Varsities begin to fatten their coffers

Sun2Surf: PETALING JAYA: Public universities are taking steps to raise their revenue to offset deficits, following the plan to cut government subsidies from 90% of university expenditure to 70%.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is doing so through a private company it established, UKM Holdings Sdn Bhd, to manage consultancy, private health services (private wing in HUKM, UKM polyclinic, pharmacy, and optometry), executive programmes, and the commercialisation of research products.
"We have been aware that the government is taking steps to make the public universities more independent for quite some time," said UKM vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Salleh Mohd Yasim.
"That is why the gover nment corporatised the universities."